llvm-project/libcxx/docs/TestingLibcxx.rst

==============
Testing libc++
==============

.. contents::
  :local:

Getting Started
===============

libc++ uses LIT to configure and run its tests.

The primary way to run the libc++ tests is by using ``make check-cxx``.

However since libc++ can be used in any number of possible
configurations it is important to customize the way LIT builds and runs
the tests. This guide provides information on how to use LIT directly to
test libc++.

Please see the `Lit Command Guide`_ for more information about LIT.

.. _LIT Command Guide: https://llvm.org/docs/CommandGuide/lit.html

Usage
-----

After building libc++, you can run parts of the libc++ test suite by simply
running ``llvm-lit`` on a specified test or directory. If you're unsure
whether the required libraries have been built, you can use the
`check-cxx-deps` target. For example:

.. code-block:: bash

  $ cd <monorepo-root>
  $ make -C <build> check-cxx-deps # If you want to make sure the targets get rebuilt
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/re # Run all of the std::regex tests
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/depr/depr.c.headers/stdlib_h.pass.cpp # Run a single test
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/atomics libcxx/test/std/threads # Test std::thread and std::atomic

Sometimes you'll want to change the way LIT is running the tests. Custom options
can be specified using the `--param=<name>=<val>` flag. The most common option
you'll want to change is the standard dialect (ie -std=c++XX). By default the
test suite will select the newest C++ dialect supported by the compiler and use
that. However if you want to manually specify the option like so:

.. code-block:: bash

  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/containers # Run the tests with the newest -std
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/containers --param=std=c++03 # Run the tests in C++03

Occasionally you'll want to add extra compile or link flags when testing.
You can do this as follows:

.. code-block:: bash

  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test --param=compile_flags='-Wcustom-warning'
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test --param=link_flags='-L/custom/library/path'

Some other common examples include:

.. code-block:: bash

  # Specify a custom compiler.
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std --param=cxx_under_test=/opt/bin/g++

  # Enable warnings in the test suite
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test --param=enable_warnings=true

  # Use UBSAN when running the tests.
  $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test --param=use_sanitizer=Undefined

Using a custom site configuration
---------------------------------

By default, the libc++ test suite will use a site configuration that matches
the current CMake configuration. It does so by generating a ``lit.site.cfg``
file in the build directory from the ``libcxx/test/lit.site.cfg.in`` template,
and pointing ``llvm-lit`` (which is a wrapper around ``llvm/utils/lit/lit.py``)
to that file. So when you're running ``<build>/bin/llvm-lit``, the generated
``lit.site.cfg`` file is always loaded first, followed by the actual config in
``libcxx/test/lit.cfg``. However, it is sometimes desirable to use a custom
site configuration. To do that, you can use ``--param=libcxx_site_config`` or
the ``LIBCXX_SITE_CONFIG`` environment variable to point to the right site
configuration file. However, you must stop using ``llvm-lit``, or else the
generated ``lit.site.cfg`` will still be preferred:

   .. code-block:: bash

     $ LIBCXX_SITE_CONFIG=path/to/your/site/configuration llvm/utils/lit/lit.py -sv ...

     $ llvm/utils/lit/lit.py -sv ... --param=libcxx_site_config=path/to/your/site/configuration

In both of these cases, your custom site configuration should set up the
``config`` object in a way that is compatible with what libc++'s ``config.py``
module expects.

LIT Options
===========

:program:`lit` [*options*...] [*filenames*...]

Command Line Options
--------------------

To use these options you pass them on the LIT command line as --param NAME or
--param NAME=VALUE. Some options have default values specified during CMake's
configuration. Passing the option on the command line will override the default.

.. program:: lit

.. option:: cxx_under_test=<path/to/compiler>

  Specify the compiler used to build the tests.

.. option:: cxx_stdlib_under_test=<stdlib name>

  **Values**: libc++, libstdc++

  Specify the C++ standard library being tested. Unless otherwise specified
  libc++ is used. This option is intended to allow running the libc++ test
  suite against other standard library implementations.

.. option:: std=<standard version>

  **Values**: c++98, c++03, c++11, c++14, c++17, c++2a

  Change the standard version used when building the tests.

.. option:: libcxx_site_config=<path/to/lit.site.cfg>

  Specify the site configuration to use when running the tests.  This option
  overrides the environment variable LIBCXX_SITE_CONFIG.

.. option:: cxx_headers=<path/to/headers>

  Specify the c++ standard library headers that are tested. By default the
  headers in the source tree are used.

.. option:: cxx_library_root=<path/to/lib/>

  Specify the directory of the libc++ library to be tested. By default the
  library folder of the build directory is used. This option cannot be used
  when use_system_cxx_lib is provided.


.. option:: cxx_runtime_root=<path/to/lib/>

  Specify the directory of the libc++ library to use at runtime. This directory
  is not added to the linkers search path. This can be used to compile tests
  against one version of libc++ and run them using another. The default value
  for this option is `cxx_library_root`.

.. option:: use_system_cxx_lib=<bool>

  **Default**: False

  Enable or disable testing against the installed version of libc++ library.
  Note: This does not use the installed headers.

.. option:: use_lit_shell=<bool>

  Enable or disable the use of LIT's internal shell in ShTests. If the
  environment variable LIT_USE_INTERNAL_SHELL is present then that is used as
  the default value. Otherwise the default value is True on Windows and False
  on every other platform.

.. option:: compile_flags="<list-of-args>"

  Specify additional compile flags as a space delimited string.
  Note: This options should not be used to change the standard version used.

.. option:: link_flags="<list-of-args>"

  Specify additional link flags as a space delimited string.

.. option:: debug_level=<level>

  **Values**: 0, 1

  Enable the use of debug mode. Level 0 enables assertions and level 1 enables
  assertions and debugging of iterator misuse.

.. option:: use_sanitizer=<sanitizer name>

  **Values**: Memory, MemoryWithOrigins, Address, Undefined

  Run the tests using the given sanitizer. If LLVM_USE_SANITIZER was given when
  building libc++ then that sanitizer will be used by default.

.. option:: color_diagnostics

  Enable the use of colorized compile diagnostics. If the color_diagnostics
  option is specified or the environment variable LIBCXX_COLOR_DIAGNOSTICS is
  present then color diagnostics will be enabled.

.. option:: llvm_unwinder

  Enable the use of LLVM unwinder instead of libgcc.

.. option:: builtins_library

  Path to the builtins library to use instead of libgcc.


Environment Variables
---------------------

.. envvar:: LIBCXX_SITE_CONFIG=<path/to/lit.site.cfg>

  Specify the site configuration to use when running the tests.
  Also see `libcxx_site_config`.

.. envvar:: LIBCXX_COLOR_DIAGNOSTICS

  If ``LIBCXX_COLOR_DIAGNOSTICS`` is defined then the test suite will attempt
  to use color diagnostic outputs from the compiler.
  Also see `color_diagnostics`.

Writing Tests
-------------

When writing tests for the libc++ test suite, you should follow a few guidelines.
This will ensure that your tests can run on a wide variety of hardware and under
a wide variety of configurations. We have several unusual configurations such as
building the tests on one host but running them on a different host, which add a
few requirements to the test suite. Here's some stuff you should know:

- All tests are run in a temporary directory that is unique to that test and
  cleaned up after the test is done.
- When a test needs data files as inputs, these data files can be saved in the
  repository (when reasonable) and referrenced by the test as
  ``// FILE_DEPENDENCIES: <path-to-dependencies>``. Copies of these files or
  directories will be made available to the test in the temporary directory
  where it is run.
- You should never hardcode a path from the build-host in a test, because that
  path will not necessarily be available on the host where the tests are run.
- You should try to reduce the runtime dependencies of each test to the minimum.
  For example, requiring Python to run a test is bad, since Python is not
  necessarily available on all devices we may want to run the tests on (even
  though supporting Python is probably trivial for the build-host).

Benchmarks
==========

Libc++ contains benchmark tests separately from the test of the test suite.
The benchmarks are written using the `Google Benchmark`_ library, a copy of which
is stored in the libc++ repository.

For more information about using the Google Benchmark library see the
`official documentation <https://github.com/google/benchmark>`_.

.. _`Google Benchmark`: https://github.com/google/benchmark

Building Benchmarks
-------------------

The benchmark tests are not built by default. The benchmarks can be built using
the ``cxx-benchmarks`` target.

An example build would look like:

.. code-block:: bash

  $ cd build
  $ cmake [options] <path to libcxx sources>
  $ make cxx-benchmarks

This will build all of the benchmarks under ``<libcxx-src>/benchmarks`` to be
built against the just-built libc++. The compiled tests are output into
``build/benchmarks``.

The benchmarks can also be built against the platforms native standard library
using the ``-DLIBCXX_BUILD_BENCHMARKS_NATIVE_STDLIB=ON`` CMake option. This
is useful for comparing the performance of libc++ to other standard libraries.
The compiled benchmarks are named ``<test>.libcxx.out`` if they test libc++ and
``<test>.native.out`` otherwise.

Also See:

  * :ref:`Building Libc++ <build instructions>`
  * :ref:`CMake Options`

Running Benchmarks
------------------

The benchmarks must be run manually by the user. Currently there is no way
to run them as part of the build.

For example:

.. code-block:: bash

  $ cd build/benchmarks
  $ make cxx-benchmarks
  $ ./algorithms.libcxx.out # Runs all the benchmarks
  $ ./algorithms.libcxx.out --benchmark_filter=BM_Sort.* # Only runs the sort benchmarks

For more information about running benchmarks see `Google Benchmark`_.